Pakistan: Punjab Assembly polls to now be held on May 14, says Pak election commission

Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday announced May 14 as the revised date for the Punjab Assembly polls, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported.

This comes after the Pakistan Supreme Court's (SC) directives that the elections be held on May 14 instead of the previously notified date of October 8. The revised schedule was issued in a notification which cited the Supreme Court's order in response to a petition filed by the PTI against the ECP's decision to delay the Punjab Assembly elections from the originally decided date of April 30 to October 8.

According to Dawn, elections to the Punjab Assembly have been due since January this year when the house was dissolved. In early March, the ECP had proposed that the elections be held between April 30 and May 7 and subsequently, President Arif Alvi accepted the commission's recommendations by setting April 30 as the date for the polls.
The date was officially notified by the electoral watchdog on March 8, but it was later deferred to October 8 in another notification issued by the ECP on March 22, as per Dawn.

The commission in the latest notification issued today said it was recalling its March 22 notification and partially modifying the March 8 notification.
Under the revised schedule, the last date for the filing of appeals against the decisions of the returning officer rejecting or accepting the candidates' nomination papers has been set as April 10.

The appellate tribunal can decide these appeals by April 17 and a revised list of candidates has to be issued by April 18.
The last date for the withdrawal of candidature and the publication of another revised list of candidates has been set as April 19, following which symbols have to be assigned to candidates by April 20, according to Dawn.
The elections, in line with the SC's directives, are to be held on May 14. (ANI)